Ectomycorrhizal fungal communities associated with eucalyptus in Japan. root metagenome

The ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungal communities associated with eucalyptus were investigated in Japan, to elucidate whether ECM fungi can establish in a stand of unfamiliar host species. In this study, the root-associated fungal communities of eucalyptus and native host species were investigated in two sites in Japan. By comparing the composition and the potential hosts and distribution of obtained ECM fungi between eucalyptus and native host species, we aimed to clarify whether host specificity can limit the establishment of native ECM fungi in a forests of exotic host species, and in consequent, limit the distribution expansion of these native fungi to the geographic area where only eucalyptus and other unfamiliar hosts exist.

本研究以日本境内与桉树相关的外生菌根（ectomycorrhizal, ECM）真菌群落为研究对象，旨在探明外生菌根真菌能否在非本土宿主林分中成功定殖。本研究在日本的两个样地中，分别调查了桉树与本土宿主植物的根系相关真菌群落。通过对比桉树与本土宿主所关联的外生菌根真菌的群落组成、潜在宿主及分布特征，本研究旨在明确宿主专化性是否会限制本土外生菌根真菌在外来宿主林分中的定殖，并进而限制此类本土真菌向仅分布有桉树等非本土宿主的地理区域实现分布扩张。